Bowen’s municipal budget looks set following unanimous approval at council this week.
The five-year financial plan received three readings during the group’s April 24 meeting, and will return for official adoption on May 8. Most immediately, it contains a 14.3 per cent property tax increase for the upcoming year. Chief financial officer Kristen Watson says there are several reasons for the double digit jump, including the cost of opening the new Community Centre, nearly $450,000 in debt repayments, asset management, and an increased focus on boosting capital reserve funds.
Watson says this calculates to around $400 more this year for the average property owner (based on a $1.486 million property).
The CFO added the 14.3 per cent rise will be tempered slightly by the value of new construction on the island, and a change in the Utility Class Property to Residential Property tax ratio from 4.16:1 to 20:1.
Watson says this makes the effective property tax increase more like 12.5 per cent, or about $348 per average owner.
Following this year, the five-year plan includes property tax increase of 9.5 per cent for each year from 2024-27. These will focus on future infrastructure costs, which are expected to be substantial in the years ahead.
Regarding one of Bowen’s capital projects, Watson revealed a Community Centre grant application to the federal Department of Canadian Heritage was unsuccessful. She says the $732,000 being sought through that grant will now be pursued through the donation campaign. If the money hasn’t been raised by the fall, Watson says the outstanding costs can be pursued through the $2.287 million Growing Community Fund awarded to Bowen by the provincial government last month, or through other borrowing.
Bowen will also pay $345,989 to Islands Trust (up 6.8% from 2022), and $206,622 to Metro Vancouver (up 5% from 2022).
